


Daisy

by Barkquerel (JadeHarleaf)



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/M, no sburb session, pairings and characters will be added as more chapters are written
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-07
Updated: 2016-08-05
Packaged: 2018-05-31 21:40:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 20,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6488371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JadeHarleaf/pseuds/Barkquerel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jade Harley and Dave Strider have grown up hating each other ever since he broke her elbow in a little league soccer game. So hearing that Dave would be transferring to her high school and co-captaining her soccer team didn't exactly make her happy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

This was your chance Harley. Everyone on the sidelines was staring at you. You could hear your Grandpa and older brother cheering you on in the distance. 

The ball was right in front of you with the opponent team's goalie hopelessly sucking his thumb. 

Your grandfather was hooting and hollering, while your brother held up a piece of paper with your name written all over it, literally. Even your dog was there, cheering for you! Or begging the game goers for their hotdogs. 

Besides that, this was still your time to shine, to show everyone that the dumb Vriska Serket wasn't the only good player on your team! 

You began to charge at the ball, running at full speed. Your grandfather was practically shouting your name now. The goalie was still ignoring the game to wave at his parents, and there didn't seem to be another player in sight that could swoop in and steal the ball from you. You felt the wind blow through your shoulder length hair, you were already grinning at your expectant victory. 

However, you suddenly felt yourself lying on your side, a sharp pain surging through your arm. You weren't even sure what had happened, but out of the corner of your eye, all you could see is a honey blonde boy with a weird pair of pointy shades running away with the ball as you began to cry. 

...............

Apparently that boy you had seen running away with the ball had pushed you over to steal the ball, all you could really remember is the pain and sobbing afterwards. 

You were at the doctor's with your grandfather and Jake. According to the x-ray's and your grandfather's recount of the story, you had landed on your elbow when you fell and broken it. 

The coach had insisted you stay out for the rest of the season, this didn't bother you. What bothered you was that boy hadn't gotten in trouble for it. You were going to get back at him for it, no matter how long it took. 

...............

It had been 2 years since "the accident" as you call it. You were no longer in the 4-6 age group anymore, so the game and it's rules started to become stricter. You wondered if you'd see that kid again, it was always a possibility. 

...............

The first game of the season was against the same team, just a different age group. Sure enough, there he was, the dumb blonde kid and his stupid shades. You had no idea why he wore those dumb things during a soccer match, especially on a cloudy day. If anything, it made him more susceptible to having the ball stolen from him. Actually, that was a good thing for you, so never mind. 

Your grandfather pulled your hair back, wrapping the hair tie around it. He kissed the top of your head as he let you go. 

"Go get 'em tiger!" 

You hugged him as you ran off to the field, ready to show that dirtbag who's in charge. 

...............

It was mid-game when it happened, the score was 2-1 and you felt things begin to become more competitive. Kids were pushing and shoving each other out of the way, Vriska Serket actually had to be pulled out of the game for getting into a fight with an opponent. 

The ball was yours, and you were doing a mighty fine job at keeping it that way. Dodging opponents left and right must have gotten to your head, because you had gotten a little cocky. You'd ended up kicking the ball as hard as you could, watching as it flew through the air. Only to hit the blonde boy right smack dab in the nose. 

There was a lot of blood from what you could see, apparently he'd broken it. 

While it was pleasurable to see, it was an accident. You'd never hurt a single person in all of your years of playing soccer, so the coaches believed you as well. You were allowed to continue playing and ended up winning 3-1. 

...............

It was post-game time. The winning team was awarded with popsicles and treats, while the losing team simply packed up their stuff. Your grandfather congratulated you on your excellent plays, while Jake might have stolen a popsicle or two. 

"Alright Jadabelle, i'm gonna bring the car around, wait here with Jake."

Your grandfather trotted off, giddy about his granddaughter's success. 

You had begun to untie your shoes and take out your ponytail, when you heard someone yell. 

"HEY!" 

You looked back, it was the boy. 

Your stomach had dropped, you weren't in the mood for confrontation, especially in front of all of these people. All you could do is simply smile and act oblivious. 

"Hi, do you need something?" You asked, looking clueless. 

The boy growled at you, "You know what I need, what's wrong with you?!" 

You were taken aback, what was his problem? You didn't like the kid very much, but it was an honest mistake. While it gave you a small amount of pleasure to see the kid hurt as much as you did 2 years ago, it wasn't intentional. 

"What do you mean?" 

"You kicked that ball right at me!" He yelled, inching himself closer to you. 

"It was a mistake!" 

"It doesn't matter! My nose is broken and it's your fault!" He screamed.

Parents started to look over at the two of you, you really wished that Jake wasn't distracted with popsicles right now, you could use a big brother. 

You scowled at him, how dare he?! He broke your elbow and you weren't allowed to play for the rest of the season! A broken nose will heal in weeks! 

"You broke my elbow two years ago! I couldn't play for the rest of the year!" 

He stuck his tongue out at you and ran off, leaving you angry. 

...............

Over the years, you had found out that the boy's name was Dave Strider, and he became your biggest rival. It moved from the little leagues, to the parks and rec department, to full blown school leagues. 

The Harley-Strider rival was an infamous one. You'd gotten into multiple fights with him on and off the field, it actually became so well known that it increased attendance to home and away games. That's probably why neither of the coaches have kicked you and Dave off your respective teams. 

You actually started to hate Dave Strider. He was cocky, arrogant, and just down right unbearable! The only good thing about him was the fact he got rid of those stupid shades, but traded them for a pair of slightly less stupid shades. He taunted you every time his team won, and turned into a pouty baby when he lost. Basically, if Dave Strider fell off the face of the earth, you wouldn't mind one bit. 

 

So hearing that he would be transferring to your high school and becoming a co-captain on the soccer team you've run since your freshman year was the worst news you received since you were 5 years old.


	2. Gas Guzzler

"But Coach Slick! There has to be another option!" You said, practically begging the coach to reverse his decision. 

Slick looked at you sternly, "Jade, i've already told you, the kid's a good soccer player. So are you, the two of you would make a good team." He squinted at you and growled, "Unless you're trying to retain this "Harley-Strider rivalry"" 

You quickly shook your head, "No! We just don't get along very well and-"

"Then learn to get along! Jade, I have tons of work to do, if you have an actual concerns other than the fact that you don't like him, then come to me." 

Slick walked off, leaving you defeated. 

............

"It could be worse Jade! I mean, maybe he's not that bad once you get to know him!" 

Your brother John was trying to be supportive, but you know that he'd always admired Dave and his superb soccer playing, but it was mainly to just annoy the hell out of you. 

"Jade, I know Dave better than anyone else, he can be kind of cocky at times but I promise you he's quite sweet on the inside." 

You groaned and rolled your eyes, Rose was just being biased. She was his twin sister, sort of separated at birth. 

You scowled, "I honestly doubt that, he's the most vile human being I have ever met." 

Rose giggled at you, "I'm sure once you get to know him, it won't be as bad." 

You slouched down, resting your arms on the lunchroom table. It only made it worse that Slick wanted you to become Dave's "personal tour guide" 

Tomorrow was going to be absolute hell, that was a given. 

............

You lay on your back, staring up at your ceiling fan. A shitty remix of some meme you'd seen on the internet was blasting through your speakers. Tomorrow, you were starting at a new school across town. It started when you'd gotten expelled from your old school for getting into quite a violent fight with another student. It didn't bother you though, that kid deserved it. Your new school was reluctant to enroll you, but they didn't have a choice. However, they decided that you must be carefully supervised by an "honorable student", and of course that honorable student was Jade Harley. 

Jade has been your rival in soccer for years, and she claims it started when you broke her elbow, but you retort with the fact she broke your nose when you were seven. 

However, while Jade was your rival, god, you loved her. 

She was intelligent, ambitious, and a kick ass soccer player. While she was generally sweet as sugar, she could become real feisty in a matter of seconds, and you loved it when she was. 

You did everything to push her buttons, and she hated it. You couldn't help yourself though, the way she crinkles her nose when she's angry was the cutest thing. 

You eventually realized that this heavily backfired, because now she'd definitely never like you. You didn't have a chance with her in the first place though, she was too amazing for a guy like you. She always made it her top priority to help others, even if they were her opponents. She was amazing at whatever she did, whether it be gardening, soccer, or even playing the bass! If you could land yourself a girl like that, you'd might as well marry her right then and there. 

"Hey! Assholes! Get down here! Dinner's ready!" It was your older bro, probably there to serve you and Dirk cold pizza again. You reluctantly got off the floor and headed to the kitchen, where your brother had surprisingly made something else for dinner. Dinosaur chicken nuggets and apple juice. Guardian of the fucking year right here. 

You sat down in a plastic lawn chair in front of a fold out table, taking a small bite out of the chicken nugget. God, they were like sponges. You'd took a sip of your AJ to wash down the taste. Your bro sat down next to you, popping open a beer. 

"You ready to woo the girl of your dreams tomorrow?"

You groaned, slamming your head down on the table. All you could do was tell him to shut up, even though he was right. 

Dirk began to laugh at you too, but you merely growled at him and threatened to tell Bro about his crush. 

"Ooooh, Dirk's got a crush? Tell me, who's the lucky lady?" 

That's why neither of you would tell him, because it wasn't a lady. Bro wasn't homophobic, but you weren't sure how'd he react to Dirk being gay..or bisexual at the very least. 

Dirk simply shrugged and insisted that I was bluffing, "I don't even have a crush on anyone." 

"Well, either way, wish the little man good luck so he can get the--" 

"Ugh! Shut up!" You yelled, before stomping out into your room. Your bro was kind of annoying when it came to that kind of stuff, you weren't a virgin, but he certainly acted like you were. It didn't matter either way though, you wanted Jade for who she was as a person, and not her body. 

Tomorrow could go one of two ways, and you hope it was the good one. 

............

You'd decided that you were going to take your bike to school that morning, it was a beautiful day and it was much better for the environment, which is what you stood for. 

"Bye grandpa! I'll see you after school!" You kissed his cheek and gave him a hug. 

"Jade? Are you sure you don't wanna ride with John and I?" Your older brother Jake asked, you simply shook your head and waved goodbye, starting on your way to school. 

............

It was sunny out, with the perfect amount of breeze. The wind was blowing through your hair as you rode on. You felt like a free spirit, it kind of reminded you of the soccer game when you were 5. That wasn't the case though, because if it was..Dave-- 

"Hey Harley! Need a ride?"

Speak of the devil, in his bright red Hummer. Of course that jackass had a car that was awful for the environment. 

You growled at him, "No way, i'd be too embarrassed to be seen in a gas guzzler with you." 

He looked on at you, pretending to be hurt. "Aw but aren't you supposed to be my tour guide?" 

"That wasn't my choice, and we're not on school grounds, Strider." 

You pedaled faster, just wanting to get away from that stupid Dave Strider. He hollered something at you, but you could barely make out what it was. It didn't matter anyways, whatever he had to say, you would never listen. 

............

You chained up your bike to the rack, grabbing your books from the basket. You walked on, looking around for a certain grump. He's forgotten to pay his dues for the soccer trip for a few weeks now, it was started to become an issue at this point. 

Suddenly, all the girls gasped. You looked over, expecting to see a dead body or something. Nope, just a douchebag stepping out of his stupid Hummer. He wore a leather jacket, sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Also his stupid aviator shades as well, now that you think about it..you've never seen him without them. You simply groaned and looked away, deciding that receiving dues from a 5'9 grump was more important to you. 

"Jade!" 

Oh jesus christ. 

"Yo! Harley!" 

You crossed your arms, choosing to ignore him, quickening your pace. 

He ran up behind you, throwing his arm over your shoulder. You quickly smacked his arm off and scowled at him. 

"What do you want?!" 

He took a step back, "Chill Harley, I was just gonna ask about the cost for that soccer trip." 

You rolled your eyes, "Go ask Coach Slick.", walking off. Of course, he ran up to you, again. 

"Jade, aren't you supposed to be my tour guide? You have to show me around for the first half of the school day." 

You stamped your foot, "Fine! Where do you wanna go first?!" 

He grinned at you, "Soccer field." 

............

"Nice turf, much better than my old school." He had his hands in his pockets, kicking around on the artificial grass. Meanwhile, you sat on the bleachers, unamused. 

"Yeah, I guess it's fine." 

He walked over and sat down next to you, leaning back and putting his hands behind his head. 

He smirked at you, "Who ever thought we'd end up being on the same team." 

You rolled your eyes, "Don't let it be a personal thing. I didn't get a choice." 

"Clearly it doesn't bother you that much, because you're still on the team."

You thought about it for a second, why hadn't you threatened to quit the team? You hated Dave, so why did you just accept it?

"Whatever, soccer's more important to me than you are. The whole rivalry crap is stupid, I just wanna play the game." 

Dave slowly nodded, admitting that he agreed. 

"So, where to next?" You asked, trying to sound pleasant. 

............

The tour with Dave went by surprisingly fast, you even had time to make it to Physics! And luckily, you only had 2 classes with Mr. Strider, but sadly, this was one of them. 

You were attempting to listen to Ms. Snowball's lecture, but you felt someone poking you in the back with a pencil. You chose to ignore it, because you knew exactly who it was. 

Of course, the only seat available was the one right behind you. So the entire class all you heard was, 

"Jade"

"Jade"

"Hey"

"Hey Jade"

"Jaaaadee"

"Jade. Jade." 

"Harley"

"Harley Davidson, haha that's funny cause, my name's David." 

Then, he started poking you in the back with whatever object was on his desk. Pencils. Pens. Rulers. A vinyl record? And for some reason, Ms. Snowball noticed none of it. She probably favored him already, there wasn't a teacher who didn't.

You had no idea what people saw in the ass, he wasn't that special to begin with. 

"Jade. Jade. Jaaaadeeee!"

You had snapped and just turned around, glaring at him. "What is so important that you have to poke me and bother me for 30 minutes straight?!" 

"Excuse me. Ms. Harley? Mr. Strider?" 

Well, apparently she noticed. 

"Do I have to separate the two of you?"

Your eyes lit up, "Yes! Yes! Yes! Please do! I would rather sit anywhere else!" 

"Ma'am, Jade's just upset that I broke her elbow 11 years ago." Dave winked at you, you felt yourself tense up. You wanted to punch him in the face, so badly. 

"Well you two, I might as well make you lab partners! You need to learn how to get along, understand?" 

You wanted to slam your head against the desk, why does everyone insist on doing this to you? It's like everyone wanted you to become Jordan and Pippen or some crap like that. 

This year was already turning to shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not really fluffy at all at the moment, but that'll change next chapter ;)


	3. Chapter 3

"Alright team! Our first game of the season is tomorrow, and we have to prepare like we care! 'cause we do!" Jade cheered as the team returned from running laps. You hadn't seen her act this cheerful in a while, at least in front of you, the last time you had was during 6th grade. She'd turned a tie game into a 5-4 win with only 10 seconds to go! You were upset with the defeat, but highly impressed by her skill. That was probably when you started liking her.

"I also want to make a huge announcement about your, now, captains!" She said with a grin, clapping her hands together. "I would like you all to meet Dave Strider, my co-captain!" From what you could tell, they all knew who you were, and they didn't like you. Everyone was silent, tilting their heads and raising eyebrows. The only person who was excited for your arrival was a red-haired girl, who must be blind or something.

"Hi Dave!" She yelled with a wave, facing in the opposite direction. A girl with blue streaks snarled at her, "You idiot! You're looking in the wrong direction!" "Do you get off at yelling at blind people or some shit?" A boy yelled from across the field.

He had hair the color of onyx, pasty skin, and had obviously gone sleepless for weeks.

"Not really, do you get off on being a piece of shit?" The girl yelled back, crossing her arms. "How about we all stop fighting!" The blind girl yelled at the two of them. "Shut it Terezi!" They both screamed Jade crossed her arms and shook her head, "With that kind of attitude and lack of team spirit, there's no way we're going to win tomorrow!"

 

She walked over to Karkat and put her arm around his shoulder, leading him towards Vriska. "Now, I want you two to apologize to each other." Jade motioned towards Terezi, "Vriska, I believe you should also apologize to Terezi."

 

_That_ was Vriska Serket? You hadn't seen in her years, you almost didn't recognize her. She'd washed out her honey blonde hair with bleach and streaks of blue, and her oval glasses were replaced with aviators. She was still just as mean however.

"Fine. Terezi, i'm sorry that you're blind." She looked towards Karkat next, "Karkat, i'm sorry that you've always got a stick up your ass." Karkat growled at her, "And i'm sorry that you're so insecure that you have to make fun of a fucking blind girl to make yourself feel better."

You rolled your eyes, seriously? These two couldn't even fake an apology? You decided to use your captain privileges to get this practice going in the right direction.

"Alright, everyone except Karkat and Vriska, go play a practice match." You motioned Jade over, along with the other two. The two stared up at you, your height really made you feel like a fish out of water.

 

"You guys seriously need to chill the hell out or i'll have to kick you out of the game for tomorrow." Karkat scoffed, "Seriously? You've been here for one day and you think you can order me around?" Vriska scoffed at your remark as well, "For once I agree with the asshole."

Jade put her hands on her hips and frowned, "We're supposed to be a team, I think we should all treat each other with respect." 

 

"He's been one of our biggest rivals for years and you're okay with him just waltzing in and declaring him co-captain?!" Karkat barked. Jade crossed her arms and shook her head, "Karkat, i'm going to have to kick you out of the game tomorrow."

 

You swear, this kid was turning redder by the second. He looked like he was about to burst.

 

"Fine! Whatever! This is stupid anyways!" He stomped off, making sure to purposely bump into you on his way out.

 

You sighed, what a great first day.

 

...............

You were frustrated, your team had humiliated you. You'd never hear the end of it from Dave. He'd probably taunt you about how unorganized your team was. You leaned against the bike rack, you really needed some peace and quiet to think about this. While Karkat had a horrible attitude, he was a valuable member to the team. You couldn't just kick him off, it'd throw everything off track. You were stumped, because there wasn't anything you could do about Dave either.

 

Of course, as if it was on cue, there he was. 

 

You shut your eyes tight and took a deep breath. "Here to taunt me?" Dave walked over and leaned on the bike rack next to you. "Why would I do that?" You looked down and shrugged, "Isn't it just what you do?" The boy shook his head, "Nah, today was mainly my fault anyways."

 

You were taken aback, you knew it wasn't true but, was he really admitting fault?

 

"No it's not, they're always like that. I'm just bad at being a captain I guess." Dave shook his head, "Nope" You looked over at him in confusion, "What?"

 

"I said, nope."

 

"Listen Harley, I know we haven't gotten along in the past but you're a pretty rad captain. You rile up the team with your happy attitude, you're super optimistic, and see the best in everyone. You're like a daisy, a pretty cool daisy at that."

 

You raised an eyebrow, like a daisy? What was that supposed to mean?

 

"I appreciate the compliment, but what does that last part mean?"

 

"You're like a daisy. You're bubbly, friendly, creative, and no one can get enough of you. Everyone loves daisies, find me a person that hates daisies, do it."

 

You rolled your eyes, "Dave, out of seven billion people on this earth, i'm sure there's someone who hates daisies." He crossed his arms and scoffed, "Then they just suck ass."

 

You couldn't help but laugh at that, "Thanks Dave, I better get going. Grandpa would kill me if I got home after 8." He pointed to his car, "You want a ride?" You smiled and shook your head, "Maybe next time though."

 

You unchained your bike from the rack and waved goodbye as you headed off.

 

You wouldn't necessarily say that you and Dave Strider were friends, but you now realized that maybe getting along wasn't as hard as thought it would be.

...............

Apparently Dirk was better at making friends at this new school than you were. He'd already had a group of them! You were lucky that his friend Roxy was your half sister. She also thought you were "absolutely adorable".

 

Now, here you sit in the courtyard, watching as the 3 of them tried to throw french fries into Jade's brother's mouth.

 

"Roxy! You can do it!" Jane cheered.

 

Currently, Roxy was in the lead with 5 french fries while Dirk only had 3. Roxy was readying her position, hoping to turn that 5 into a 6.

 

You swear, Dirk had some weird friends.

 

Roxy tossed the french fry, landing in Jake's mouth, who happily ate it up. You added another dash to Roxy's score, giving out a sigh.

 

"Roxy 6, Dirk 3."

 

You felt a tap on your shoulder, you turned around to see Jade.

 

"Oh, hey Har."

 

Jade smiled at you, "Hey! I need your help with something, would you mind coming with me?" You shook your head and stood up, following Jade inside from the courtyard. She turned to look up at you and smiled. You never realized how short she was compared to you, she had to be around a foot shorter than you.

 

"I would say that getting you out of scoreboarding for a french fry throwing competition was my only motive, but that's not fully true, I need your help with the Brazil trip fundraiser."

 

You raised an eyebrow, "What about it?"

 

"Well, Nepeta had to drop out because she was volunteering at a stray cat shelter that day, so we need another walker."

 

"Fine"

 

She looked at you, surprised. "Just like that?" You nodded, "Just like that."

 

She pulled you down and patted your shoulder, "Thanks! Gee, you sure are tall Dave!"

 

She skipped off, leaving you in awe. Why was she being so nice to you all of a sudden? Was it that chat you had after practice a few days ago? Whatever it was, you hope it was permanent.

...............

EB: see jade! i told you that you'd like him once you got to know him!

GG: yeah whatever dork :p

GG: i barely know him still

GG: he just said something nice thats it

EB: he said that you were like a daisy

EB: im sure he at least thinks highly of you

GG: yeah yeah okay whatever you say ;)

EB: but if he tries anything

EB: i'll beat him up!

GG: you couldnt hurt a fly!!

EB: maybe thats true but

EB: jake could!

GG: jakes like 7 inches shorter than dave :B

EB: oh right

EB: i forgot that your side of the family is short

GG: rude! :(

EB: hehehe

EB: anyways i gotta go

EB: rose wants an online interview for the school newspaper

EB: i'm famous jade!!!

GG: yeah okay super star ;) bye!!!

EB: later jade

\-------gardenGnostic ceased pestering ectoBiologist\-------


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy moly! This is a loooooonng one! No wonder it took so long :P
> 
> If you haven't noticed, i've changed the rating from Teen to Mature. This is due in part to sexual themes (that are kind of obvious in this chapter) and possible (awfully written) smut later on. Anyways, I hope you enjoy :)

"I don't know Dave, we're on kind of a tight schedule."

"I'll give you $20"

Sollux looked at you and crossed his arms. You figured you owed Jade for being a dick to her as kids, so you would imagine increasing the attendance for the fundraiser would make her extremely happy. What better way than to make a humorous ad for the school news? You were trying to convince Sollux to help you film, but man this kid is stubborn.

Sollux tapped his chin, "I'll tell you what, i'll help you film if you can manage to get the editing done before Friday."

You nodded in agreement, but he quickly put a finger up.

"And you bring AA with you."

You rolled your eyes and groaned, you couldn't believe that this kid was such an introvert he couldn't even ask his own best friend to come with them. You reluctantly agreed, shaking Sollux's hand.

He scribbled something down on a notepad and ripped it out, handing it to you.

"This is my pesterchum account, just tell me where we meet."

He walked off, leaving you with a piece of paper that said

"twinArmageddons"

.................

You hadn't known the team for very long, but you knew the one place that Aradia would be.

You approached Mr. Droog's room, peaking in and sure enough, there she was. She was thoroughly reading an archaeology textbook, not even noticing you approaching her.

You tapped her on desk, "Yo, Aradia."

 

She closed her textbook and looked up at you with a bright smile.

"Hey Dave!"

Aradia was quite pretty in your opinion, and very sweet as well. She wasn't really your type though, her thing for death kind of creeped you out. Besides, Sollux would kill you.

"Listen, Sollux's gonna be filming an ad for the fundraiser and I think he wanted you to join us."

She let out a giggle, "He's so silly! My own best friend can't even approach me, but tell him that I'd love to."

You nodded, "Alright, we're going to be meeting at the animal shelter at around 4."

You waved goodbye and let her continue with her weird archaeology obsession, you really hope that this turns out well.

.................

CURRENT turntechGodhead [CTG]  RIGHT NOW opened memo on board KICKASS FUNDRAISER AD 

CTG: hey  
CTG: hey  
CTG: guys  
CTG: hey

CURRENT carcinoGeneticist [CCG] RIGHT NOW responded to memo

CCG: WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU WANT

CURRENT gallowsCalibrator [CGC] RIGHT NOW responded to memo

CGC: H3Y D4V3 >:]  
CCG: HOW THE FUCK CAN YOU TYPE YOU'RE FUCKING BLIND  
CGC: CL34RLY M1ST3R S4LTY P4NTS W4NTS TO KNOW MY S3CR3TS  
CGC: 4ND H3 W1LL N3V3R KNOOOOOOOWWW H4H4H4H4H4H4 >:]  
CCG: WHAT THE FUCK EVER

CURRENT ectoBiologist [CEB] RIGHT NOW responded to memo

CEB: hey dave!  
CEB: what's this about?  
CTG: glad you asked my dudeliness  
CTG: i want all of you to meet me at the animal shelter at 4 pm

CURRENT archanidsGrip [CAG] RIGHT NOW responded to memo

CAG: No way Strider, I've got more important things to do than impress your girlfriend 8y playing with puppies. ::::/ 

CTG: do you wanna go to brazil or not

CAG: ........

CTG: thats what i thought

CTG: anyways yeah

CTG: animal shelter at 4

CGC: W1LL TH3R3 B3 FOOD?

CTG: yes terezi

CTG: there will be food

CGC: SW33T

CURRENT turntechGodhead [CTG] RIGHT NOW closed memo on board KICKASS FUNDRAISER AD

.................

You sat on the bench, watching Terezi roll in the grass, covered in dogs of many shapes and breeds. She cackled loudly, "Dave, I think this was the best idea you've ever had!"

Karkat grumbled something at her, along the lines of "crazy". That didn't matter to you right now, what mattered was Sollux Captor. Where the hell was he? It was almost 4:15! Speak of the devil, there he was. A sweaty brunette boy, running at full speed into the yard of the animal shelter, his computer bag flying behind him.

"Hey, Captor!" You shouted, "Where the hell have you been?" He growled at you threateningly, "Don't test me, Strider." He pushed his hair back out of his face, "Ampora was being a dickhead, and...I joked about something private that happened last year." He scratched his head, looking down. "Anyways, let's just get this show on the road."

You spent an hour or two filming videos of Terezi rolling in the grass, taking pictures of puppies, and maybe a few seductive poses here and there. You hoped Jade would like it, or at least find it humorous. You wanted to make her happy, and the success of her team did.

It was around 6 PM when all of you parted ways. You looked around in the parking lot for your car, then remembering that you had walked. You groaned, your house was maybe 15 miles away, and you didn't have any cash on you to take a bus. You slouched in defeat, realizing you had no other option except to walk. It'd take you about 5 hours to get home, it didn't matter though, Bro probably wouldn't notice.

.................

You were about a mile into your journey home when you heard someone calling after you. You thought it was Jade at first, but there was something different about it. That's when you realized that it was the voice of a Megido, it was Aradia. You turned on your heel to face her and waved.

She ran up to you and waved back, "I was leaving from Sollux's house when I saw you, are you walking home?"

You shoved your hands in your pockets and nodded. She frowned, "Your house's like 15 miles from here, isn't it?" You nodded again as she sighed. "Well, I can escort you for a mile or two on my way home, if you don't mind?"

"It's cool with me I guess."

She walked along side you, humming an Owl City song. You have to admit, you admired Aradia. She was quite a peaceful person, which made her easy to be around. One thing about her you disliked is how easily she saw through people.

"So, you really care about Jade don't you?" She said, scrolling through her phone, not even looking up at you.

Your face turned a bright shade of red, case in point. You scratched your head nervously, "Where did you get that idea from?" She merely laughed at you, "I was going to say that you spent so much time setting up this ad for the fundraiser, but your nervousness really gives it away." You sighed, "So what if I do? We're a team now."

Aradia looked over at you, "I think you two would be nice together." You scoffed,

"Tell that to her."

She giggled, "So you like her?"

You nodded, staring at the ground. Aradia patted you on the shoulder, "You just gotta keep trying Dave, she'll come around." You shrugged, "Maybe..."

You wanted to mention Sollux to her, you figured you owed him something. You were kind of afraid that she'd say she wasn't interested in him, then Sollux would probably kick your ass.

"Alright, that's enough about my love life. What about you?"

She looked up at you, "Me?" She laughed, "If you can find a guy who'd be interested in a girl obsessed with archaeology, I'll give you all of the money I've saved for college." You smirked, "I think I know someone." Her eyes lit up, "Who? Tell me!"

You shook your head, "I think it's better if you figure it out." She frowned, "Please Dave!" You laughed, "Let's just say it's someone who's been there the entire time."

You spent most of the time listening to Aradia beg for hints, she never got the answer from what you could see. The end of line seemed to be Jade's house. You stood there with Aradia, just staring. It was silent for a good five minutes before she spoke up,

"You should go see her."

You looked down at your feet, "No way! I'm probably the last person she wants to see." She nudged you forward, "Come on, don't be a baby."

You quickly stepped back and shook your head, she pushed you forward towards the archway, and no matter how hard you struggled, you found yourself at Jade's front door. Aradia pressed the door bell and ran away, waving goodbye at you.

You wanted to run, but your feet were practically glued to the concrete. The door swung open and instead of Jade, you were greeted with a shotgun barrel.

.................

 

Romance movies weren't really your thing before high school. It was because of Karkat that you had started to enjoy some, he preferred romcoms though, you were more into the drama of it. The movie Endless Love was one of your favorites, no matter how cheesy or terrible it really was. Originally, you weren't a fan of the main pairing David and Jade in that movie, David was kind of an asshole. If you wanna impress your girlfriend's dad, go play golf with him or something, don't set their porch on fire. He was also a piece of crap too, thank god Jade was smart enough to realize that later.

A remake of the film was released your sophomore year of high school, you went to see it with Karkat, who hated it. You, however, loved it, even though it was almost nothing like the original movie. This version of David and Jade were a lot more, y'know, romantic rather than abusive. David was also a catch too, his goal in life was to find "the one"!

The reason why you bring up this movie was because you'd been watching it on some free movie website since you'd gotten home. You were cuddled up in your squiddle's blanket, grabbing a handful of popcorn.

God, you really wanted your own David. The David from 2014, of course. You've had sorta-kinda boyfriends in the past, but you've never been in love. It just wasn't something that you focused on, all you really needed in the past was your bass, soccer games, and guns.

Before you could finish your depressing thought, your grandfather stomped up the stairs and opened your door. "Jada Belle Harley, do you know a Dave Strider?" You raised an eyebrow at him, slowly nodding. "Jade! If you're going to invite friends over, you should tell me first. I don't wanna end up shooting one of your friends smack dab in the brain."

You agreed, but you had no idea Dave was planning to come over. What did he want? It was 7 o'clock anyways, not really a good time for hanging out. You then realized what movie you were watching, crap. Dave would never let you live it down if he found out one of your favorite movies was a romantic drama with the main character's names being David and Jade. You quickly shut your laptop as you heard footsteps coming up the stairs. He knocked on your door, "Hey Har, it's me."

You coughed, "C-come in."

He swung open your door and grinned, "Nice Squiddles poster." You frowned, "It's cute!" The blonde boy laughed, sitting down next to you on your bed. "So, I bet you're wondering as to what you owe the pleasure to."

You thought about it for a second, you were actually wondering, but definitely didn't want to give him the satisfaction. You could tell from his tone of voice that this was the cocky Dave Strider. You shrugged, "I guess."

"Oh, not that answer I was expecting..." He scratched the back of his neck, "Well, I was at the animal shelter for....some uh..highly ironic volunteer hours, and I got a ride to school today, so I didn't have my car. Basically, I was walking home and figured I'd say sup." You raised an eyebrow, "Isn't your house about 15 miles from the animal shelter?" He nodded, "Yup."

You frowned, did he really not have anyone at home to pick him up? He has two brothers, doesn't he?

"Do you want me to ask Jake if he can drive you home?" He looked down and mumbled, "If you don't mind."

 

You nodded, "Wait right here."

.................

"Jake!" You shouted, knocking at his door. There was some shuffling you could hear from his room, from what you could tell, he scrambled to get to the door. He opened it, and before he could even say a word you immediately asked if he could drive a friend home.

"Normally I would in any other circumstance, but I'm afraid that I have no money for wind shield repairs."

You tilted your head in confusion, "What do you mean?" He sighed and merely told you to go turn on the weather channel.

You walked back to your room, frowning. "Jake said something about the weather."

Dave stood up from your bed and looked out the window, "Looks pretty dark...can you watch a stream of the weather channel on your computer?"

You nodded, sitting down on your bed as you opened your laptop. Seeing the movie you had just watched made you blush, and apparently Dave noticed.

"Oooh Harley, something sexy on your computer or something?" He grinned and walked over, sitting next to you and trying to steal your laptop.

"Hey!" You pouted, trying to grab your laptop back.

"Endless Love, mmm wonder what this is about."

You slouched back in defeat, crossing your arms, waiting for him to laugh at you.

"The story of a privileged girl and a charismatic boy whose instant desire sparks a love affair made only more reckless by parents trying to keep them apart...David and Jade, you say?" He waggled his eyebrows at you, you just pushed him away.

"Those are pretty common names, it means nothing."

"Suuuure, if you say so. Anyways, let's get this meteorology shit show on the road." He said, looking for streams of the weather channel. "Here's one."

"We have received news that all Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District schools will be closed tomorrow, October 7th, due to highly severe weather. We highly suggest that you move any vehicles to a garage or indoor area due to hail."

You sighed, "I guess you have to stay here tonight." Dave grinned, "Our first sleep over, Har"

.................

You walked down the stairs and were greeted with your grandfather sipping his evening scotch while Jake flipped through TV channels.

"Jade, my girl!" He said happily, you gave him a kiss on the cheek and smiled. "Grandpa, Dave needs to stay here tonight. There's no one to pick him up and he's maybe 13 miles away from home."

Grandpa tapped his chin, "Well..considering the circumstances, I will have to agree. However, he must sleep on the floor." You nodded, "Thanks Poppop!"

Jake looked over at you and scowled, "Dave, that's the friend that's here?"

You nodded, "What's the issue?" Jake immediately dropped the remote and stomped up the stairs, heading to your room. You quickly followed him, "Really Jake! It's not a big deal, I swear!" He didn't listen to you, storming into your room.

"Listen here, Mr. Strider. If you think about doing any funny business with my little Jada Belle, i'll knock you into next year!" You wanted to laugh, Jake talked almost exactly like your grandfather, but apparently if his goal was to intimidate Dave, it worked.

Dave simply nodded, eyes widened.

Jake calmly walked out, and you just stared at Dave.

"I'm kind of confused as to why you look terrified, you've got maybe 7 inches on him."

You could tell Dave was trying to hold back a dick joke, instead, he merely mentioned the fact that he was rather gangly while Jake was much more fit and muscular. You simply agreed.

Dave texted "Bro" as he calls him and Dirk about the fact that he's staying over. You showed Dave what Netflix Roulette was, which had been a tradition for you and John for a while now. The movie you ended up landing on was called "Newlyweeds", an African-American stoner dramatic comedy. Dave seemed to enjoy it, mentioning that he had a similar dream about being held hostage by Busta Rhymes. You thought it was okay, but you, your wife, and pot wasn't really a love triangle. Then the "heart to heart" started,

"Hey Jade?"

"Yeah?"

"Have you ever smoked pot before?"

You'd drank a little in the past, but never any drugs. What exactly was he getting at here?

You shook your head, "Nope...have you?"

Dave nodded, "It's been a hella long time though, I had to have been maybe 14 or 15, I was kind of an angsty dickhead back then. You probably know that though."

You looked down and shrugged, "My life was kind of boring back then" You chuckled, "I guess I dated Tavros Nitram, but that was it." Dave raised an eyebrow at you, "Tavros? The kid in the wheel chair?" You nodded, "He actually wasn't in a wheel chair when we dated, he's actually pretty tall y'know, he didn't become paralyzed until sometime last year."

"Would you mind if I asked how?"

You put your hands in your lap and sighed, "It was actually the night after we broke up. Vriska noticed he was upset, she took him out for a party. She got completely wasted, and insisted she could drive them back. They got into an accident, Tavros flew through the wind shield. It was a miracle he lived through it. Sometimes I do feel like it was kind of my fault though...I should've been there instead of just leaving him to be caught in Vriska's web."

Dave sighed, leaning back on your bed, staring up at your glow in the dark stars. "I don't think it's your fault, Vriska just manipulates and toys with people for kicks, she would've found a way to get to him, break up or not."

You decided to change the subject back to pot for some reason, you didn't wanna break down over Tavros in front of Dave.

"Can I ask how often you smoked, y'know, when you did?"

Dave looked over at you and laughed, "Every damn day, or at least whenever I could."

You lay back on your bed next to him, staring up at your ceiling as well. The weather man was still going on and on about tornado watches and the amount of rainfall.

"Can I ask why you smoked everyday, and why you stopped?

Dave let out a heavy sigh, "If you're looking for some tragic story or something, you won't find it here. Basically I was friends with some real shitty people. Stopped being friends with them. End of story."

He was lying, you knew he was lying. He wouldn't have gotten so defensive if he told you the truth.

"I know you're lying, so i'll make a deal with you. You can ask me whatever you want, and no matter how wild and inappropriate it is, i'll answer."

He tapped his chin, "I can't think of shit now that I finally have all of this power, give me a second." He hummed to himself, until he gave you a sly smile. "Are you a virgin?"

You felt your face get warm, "U-uhm..thats...!!"

"You said you'd answer, no matter how inappropriate."

You looked down, embarrassed to say. Would he make fun of you if he found out that you were? No..that doesn't sound like Dave, or at least the one you know now.

"Yeah..." You looked at him, "Are you?"

He shook his head, "It kind of ties into the pot in a way, basically I smoked cause I felt alone, took my mind off it. One night I was smoking with some friends and this girl gave me a look. That's really that."

You frowned, "Do you still feel alone?" He shrugged, "I guess, but I just have to pull through. I can't really do anything about it."

"So why did you stop?"

"One night I made the stupid ass decision of mixing alcohol and weed. It was awful, I felt paranoid, It made me think about how alone I was even more. So I, like the dumb ass I am, downed an entire bottle of pills. No one wanted to take me to the hospital because they were afraid of getting busted, if it wasn't for Rose showing up out of the blue, I probably would have died."

It was silent for a few minutes after that, only the sound of rain pattering against the roof to be heard. You were speechless, and immediately regret every horrible thing you'd said to him.

You only managed to croak out a few words, "I'm sorry"

He raised an eyebrow, waiting for an explanation.

"I'm sorry for being such a jerk to you."

He rolled his eyes, "Seriously Harley? If anything I should be apologizing to you, I was a dickhead to you as a kid." You giggled, "You were kind of a butthead." He placed the back of his hand to his forehead, "Oh Jade! How you hurt me so!" He said sarcastically. You light punched his arm, and he chuckled.

Things were quiet again after that, you merely looked at him, thinking that it's only been a few weeks since he moved here and you've already seen a different side to the guy you thought was a jack ass.

"Wanna hear something funny?"

His voice took you out of a trance, you happily smiled and nodded.

He smirked, "My brother has the biggest crush on Jake."

Your eyes widened and you laughed, "We should set them up!" Dave raised an eyebrow at you, "Is Jake gay or something?" You shook your head, "I think he told me that he might be into guys as well as girls. Don't you think they'd make an adorable couple?" He shrugged, "If your brother can put up with an angsty anime loving weirdo, then maybe."

It wasn't long before the lights started to flicker. You knew that the rest of the power would follow behind. Also you knew in just a few moments that Jake would come banging on your door, threatening to kick Dave's ass if he wasn't on the floor in 3 seconds.

You grabbed 2 blankets and an extra pillow from your closet, throwing them on the floor next to your bed.

"Make yourself comfortable or something, wait here, I'm gonna go change." You grabbed a tanktop and a pair of shorts from your drawer, entering your bathroom. For some reason, you felt nervous. The only boy you'd ever slept in the same room with was probably John. You took off your sweater and unhooked your bra. You threw on your tank top before you could spend a moment even thinking of stuff like that, this wasn't like some romantic drama or some shit, you were just offering a friend a place to stay, that was all.

You pulled off your sweats and replaced them with a pair of shorts decorated with squiddles. You opened your bathroom door to see the view of Dave Strider taking off his shirt. God dammit. He was already without pants as well, only wearing a pair of red boxers. Did this kid get uncomfortable sleeping in the same clothes or something? You realized that you were staring and Dave was smirking at you, "I can give you a private show if you like."

You grabbed a pillow from your bed and chucked it at the boy, who laughed. This guy would be the death of you, you swear.

.................

"First time you ever felt horny?"

"W-what kind of question is that?!"

"This is truth or dare Harley, and you picked truth, so answer."

She grumbled and crossed her arms, not even wanting to look you in the eye. "The first time I can remember was when I was 12 or 13. Basically Karkat hugged me and put his hand on my lower back. It wasn't exciting or special, it was just..weird."

You snorted at the thought of that, "Jeez. Isn't he a ladies man?"

"S-shut up! It's really embarrassing, anyways, truth or dare?"

You tapped your chin, grinning, "Dare."

She began to giggle, "I dare you to run down the street, in your boxers, while singing the Full House theme."

You stood up and put your hands on your hips, "Let's get this bitch going." You adjusted your glasses for dramatic effect and she giggled, standing up and following after you. The two of you tip toed down the stairs, making sure not to make a sound as you opened the front door. The rain was still coming down pretty hard, but you ain't no fucking chicken. You walked out from under the overhang, waving at Jade from the driveway, who giggled.

You ran onto the road, trying to scream over the pounding of the rain and thunder.

_What ever happened to predictability?  
The milkman, the paperboy, the evening TV._

_Everywhere you look, everywhere you go_

_There's a heart, there's a heart  
A hand to hold onto._

_Everywhere you look, everywhere you go_  
There's a face  
Of somebody who needs you.

 _When you're lost out there and you're all alone,_  
A light is waiting to carry you home,  
Everywhere you look.

Jade was laughing at you as you ran back to the overhang, the hail seemed to have started again. You let out a shiver as the two of you went back inside. Jade threw you some towels as she dried your boxers. You felt kind of weird being stark ass naked in Jade's room, you felt the squiddle's soulless eyes judging you. The only thing to cover you was a bright green towel from her bathroom, fuck, they smelled like her. You were really hoping for your boxers back soon, for all you knew her dog would fucking teleport into her room and bite your dick off, alright, too far.

Luckily, it was only a few more minutes until Jade threw your boxers at you, before clenching her eyes shut. "Tell me when you're decent!"

You pulled your underwear up, "Alright, no sausage fest here."

She popped open her eyes and giggled, hopping back on her bed. "I'm pretty impressed that you actually went through with that."

You smirked, "It's Strider tradition to fulfill our dares."

You sat back down on the blanket that was laying on the floor, looking up to Jade who was grinning down at you. "Kiss, Marry, Kill, Jake, Terezi, and Equius."

You smirked back at her, "Easy peasy Harley. I'd probably bone Terezi, marry Jake, and kill Equius. Let me show you how it's done. Roxy, Karkat, and Vriska."

She tapped her chin, "I'd probably kiss Roxy, marry Karkat, and kill Vriska."

"I'd totally pay to see you kiss Roxy."

She chucked another pillow at you, before sticking her tongue out, "You're gross!" You chuckled, "I'm kidding, it'd be a little weird to see you make out with my sister, but you might be her type." You joked, Jade just scrunched her face at that comment.

You lay on your back, watching as the flickering of the lights came to a halt, the room going completely dark. Of course, it was a power outage. Jake gave the two of you a lantern, giving you a cold stare as he noticed that you were wearing nothing but boxers. After that, you and Jade just talked about whatever came to mind. You could tell she was growing tired, her words becoming stretched, and yawns coming more frequently.

"We actually should set Dirk and Jake up on a date."

She looked down at you from the edge of her bed, lying on her stomach. "I think that'd be nice, but where?"

"There's a carnival coming to town next month, would Jake be into that?"

Jade nodded excitedly, a bright smile tugging at her lips, "That's the one with the rodeo right? Jake loves rodeos, it's been that way since we were kids."

"So it's a "we're setting up our siblings" date?"

She nodded excitedly, and you smirked. "We have to get them on the ferris wheel, Dirk is terrified of heights."

"Aw! Jake can be his knight in shining armor!"

You snorted, "Oh Dirky!" You imitated, exaggerating a British accent, "Don't you worry a bit my hunk of heartbreak!"

She laughed along with you, "Now how bout after we get off this ol' thing, we go for a barneymugging?" You continue, trying to stop yourself from bursting out laughing. Jade was past that point, she was holding onto her side.

"Bring that dingle-doodle over here, Mr. Strider!"

Jade's laugh was contagious, because you felt yourself starting to laugh as well. Jade ended up rolling off her bed and onto your chest, but she didn't stop laughing for a second, neither did you.

It wasn't until the laughing subsided that you realized what had just happened. You imagined Jade would immediately get up and scrunch up her nose the way she does when she's angry or grossed out. A few minutes went by, and she was still just lying on your chest. Her green eyes pierced you, her hands reaching up and slowly taking off your aviators. You wanted to push her hands away, you wanted to tell her to stop but you couldn't. You felt paralyzed as the world became a little brighter. She was staring right into your ruby red eyes, waiting for a reaction. She smiled at you, resting her head on your chest.

"You have beautiful eyes."

That was the last she said before falling asleep. Before this, you lived for moments with Jade Harley where she would just glare at you. Now you have the prettiest girl in all of Houston lying on your chest and you aren't even sure if you have the ability to sleep right now.


	5. Chapter 5

You'd spent the entire night before editing the advertisement for the school news. You had no idea that putting together some clips would be so difficult, you also had no idea how loud strifing was until you heard the voice over clips, it was practically nothing but katanas clashing together. You had to wait until your brothers went to sleep to record again, and that was at around maybe 3 AM. You managed to get the tape to Sollux minutes before he began rolling film, giving you a glare but eventually complying. You hoped that it would draw in attention, and you hoped that Jade would appreciate it. You hadn't talked to her since the two of you practically cuddled the entire night. Oh god, did you make it weird? Wait, she was the one that fell on you and chose not to get up, but you were the one that wrapped your arms around her. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

You rushed back to your classroom, sliding into your seat before your teacher could even notice that you were gone.

Karkat turned to look at you from his desk, "So is that stupid ass advertisement gonna air or what?"

You nodded, "It better, otherwise Sollux Captor is asking for an ass kicking."

Karkat rolled his eyes, "Like you could beat up Sollux, you've got the fucking body of Gumby."

Your teacher, Mr. Boxcars, gave the two of you a surly lecture before you eventually shut up and watched the announcements. The beginning of your advertisement began to play, thank god.

_Ah, dogs._

_Aren't they magnificent?_

A clip of dogs running and playing around the field began to play, girls gushing at the cute puppies.

_So cute._

More puppies appeared on the screen, seemingly stealing everyone's hearts.

_So sweet._

You began to laugh as a clip of Terezi rolling in the grass, being licked by tons of dogs began to play.

_You know what would make it better? YOUR dog being taken care of by these eligible bachelors and bachelorettes._

Pictures of the team began to play on screen, all of them posing with puppies. A picture of Jade showed up, embracing her dog Becquerel. Comments of guys began to pop up,

"Jade Harley's pretty hot, right?"

"Dude, I'd totally bang her in a second."

"Vriska Serket though, mm, having those two in a room without their clothes on would be heaven."

You had an urge to sock them in the face, but you knew you couldn't risk anything. You'd probably be kicked off the soccer team and the fundraiser would be cancelled. You just had to reassure yourself that you had Jade Harley closer than any of those douchebags a few nights ago. Sure, she might have been avoiding you because of it, but it still happened.

"Hey ass fucker, why the fuck did you just snap your pencil in half?"

Shit. Apparently you weren't doing that well at controlling your anger. You simply placed it on the table and put your hands behind your head.

"For ironic purposes."

Karkat snorted at you, "I'll take your word for it."

...................

God. God. God. You screwed up. You screwed up.

Why didn't you just get off of him? Why didn't you just laugh it off like it was an accident? There was no way you could ever talk to him again, it was too embarrassing. When you saw the advertisement, you wanted to believe that he did it for you, but there was no way. You had no idea how you would be able to face him at soccer practice today. There was only one person you could go to, well there was technically two, but the other one was a complete bitch.

You looked at Terezi, who was leaning back in a wooden chair and working on a red sucker. The library was where she spent most of her time when she wasn't with Vriska, you had no idea why, since she was blind, but she claimed to have her ways. You nervously walked over, Terezi wasn't mean at all, especially when she was alone. She could sense your presence when you were a little over five feet away. "Have you come to the dragon master for guidance, little Harley?" She cackled, waving you over. You complied, making your way towards you and sitting in the chair adjacent from hers.

"It's actually..uh..boy advice."

Terezi sat up, chomping up her lollipop and throwing the remaining stick on the floor. She tapped her fingers and grinned, "How may I help you?"

You crossed your arms and looked away, "I really screwed up with this one guy..that I think I like. He had to stay over at my house because it was the night of that awful storm, we were joking around and basically I ended up on his chest and he hasn't spoken to me since."

Terezi sighed, "I'd say you should just try to talk to him, he's probably thinking that you're avoiding him too. If you wanna take it somewhere, then just tell him that. If you wanna get nasty under the bleachers, just tell-"

"I get it Terezi, thank you."

She grinned, "Anytime, doggy girl!"

You walked off, keeping what the red head said in mind. You hoped that Dave had forgotten all about it, not only would it ruin your friendship, but it would also make managing the soccer team harder than it should be. God, he was probably talking to his much cooler friends about how much of a loser you were. You tried to think of what exactly you were going to say, _Hey Dave! Sorry for sleeping on your chest the entire night while you were only wearing one garment! Won't happen again!_

You were so stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid

...................

Whenever you were stressed out, you usually spent time during lunch in the music room to mess around with your turntables that Mr. Sawbuck let you keep in a practice room. Today you were definitely stressed, you'd actually skipped physics today because you were too nervous to even approach Jade. You were surprised you'd gotten away with that, either Sawbuck was out or just didn't care. The bell signaled the beginning of the 2nd lunch period, which meant that a small swarm of band students would start to enter. You didn't really mind, most of them left you alone, except for maybe a freshman girl or two staring at you from the small window in the door.

After a few minutes of letting the music flow through your finger tips, you stopped to rest, when you heard her voice.

"Hey Harley! You here to pick up your bass?"

"Nope, just looking for Dave, he's usually in the practice room right?"

"Yep! First on the left!"

Shit. You wanted to run, no, you couldn't, she'd probably notice. You just need to act casual, you began to turntable again like you hadn't even heard her voice. Jade Harley? Here? What a surprise!

The door opened slowly, entering in was the bespectacled girl. She gave you a bright smile, "You're really good at that, you know?"

You smirked at her and crossed your arms, "We should collaborate together or something, your bass playing is pretty good as well." She nodded, "Thank you! I just wanted to make sure we were okay and stuff." She put her finger to her lips and looked down at her feet, "We haven't talked in a few days so..."

"Yeah, we're totally fine!" You insisted, "If anything I thought you were ignoring me." She widened her eyes and shook her head, "No way! I have no reason to!" Her green eyes met with your ruby reds, "So we're good?" You put your fist out for a fist bump, the dark haired girl returning the favor. She giggled, "Now that I know that we're good, I kind of need your help with something." You raised an eyebrow, "Alright, lay it on me."

She twiddled her fingers together, "Jake's been acting kind of weird the past few days, he hasn't been hanging out with his friends, he's always sitting with me at lunch, and he's spending most of his time in his room. Has Dirk been okay?" You tapped your chin, "Hmm, well now that you mention it, he's been more mopey than usual. I can talk to him and see if anything's been up if you want?"

Jade nodded, "That'd be great!" She gave you a quick hug, skipping out of the room. Your face turned a deep red, well now you had to ask Dirk if he was having a hormonal man period, which was one of your least favorite things to do.

...................

After school nowadays, Dirk would immediately go to his room and make mixes of some lame ass Coldplay songs. Something was up, normally Jake would be here or he'd be making "moe step" as he calls it. You knocked on your brother's door,

"Dave, I'm really not in the mood to strife right now."

You groaned and knocked on the boy's door again, "I'm not here to strife, just fucking let me in." The door creaked open to reveal an amber eyed boy with the worst dark circles you'd ever seen. "What the hell do you want, Dave?"

You pushed him out of the way, and sat down on his bed, decorated in pool balls. You drummed your fingers against the mattress, "So I assume you fucked up with Jake and now you're being a fucking baby and not trying to fix whatever the hell you did."

"How the hell do you know that it wasn't Jake who fucked up?!" He retorted, you snickered back at him. "Because I've known you for 16 years and I know what you're like." Dirk grumbled something, "Well...yeah, I kinda fucked up I guess." You groaned, "God dammit Dirk, what did you do this time?" He sighed, "Well uh, he kind of told me that he liked me and the next day he caught me making out with some other asshole." You smacked your brother's arm, hard. "Ow! What the fuck Dave?!" He yelled, "You always do this! You fall hard for someone and then when you find out that they might give a hint of a damn about you, you run off and do some stupid shit so you can mope around for weeks!"

He crossed his arms, "I know what I'm doing Dave."

"No, I really don't think you do."

You got off your brother's bed and walked back into your room, sitting down at your desk and opening up pesterchum.

\----------turntechGodhead began pestering gardenGnostic\----------

TG: yo jade  
GG: hi dave!!!  
GG: did you talk to dirk???  
TG: yeah  
GG: aaaand??  
GG: dont keep me in suspense dave!! :(  
TG: basically a few days ago  
TG: jake told him that he liked him  
TG: and the next day jake caught him making out with some douchebag  
GG: >:O  
GG: that ass!!!  
TG: fuckin right?  
GG: i thought you said he liked jake?  
TG: he does  
TG: hes just really really stupid  
TG: whenever someone cares about him he like does everything in his power to make sure that they dont  
GG: so what do we do?  
TG: i have a plan  
TG: are you doing anything after the fundraiser?  
GG: mm nope!  
TG: good  
TG: tell jake that you wanna go grab a bite to eat at that really crappy 50s diner by the park  
TG: dirk has to borrow my car for some errands so hes gonna pick me up so ill ask him then  
GG: i think jakes always wanted to go to that place!!  
GG: sounds like a plan ;)  
TG: alright cool  
TG: ill see you tomorrow  
GG: bye dave!!<3  
TG: bye harles

\----------turntechGodhead ceased pestering gardenGnostic\----------

You felt yourself melt at the sight of that heart emoticon, you knew it was stupid, but maybe it meant something? Maybe. God, it felt like you were 13 again. You figured you should talk to Dirk again, he'd probably been moping even more since you called him out on his shit. God, if your personality and interests defined how you looked, Dirk would be an asshole with a neckbeard and fedora. You got up from your desk chair and left your room, crossing through the hallway to enter your brother's room. You groaned "Dude, you're still listening to Coldplay?"

He nodded, "What else am I supposed to do? I fucked up with Jake, can't do anything else except mope around now." You rolled your eyes and took a deep breath, "You know what you fucking do when the guy you've been obsessing over tells you that he likes you too? You kiss him, you don't kiss someone else you idiot." He rested his head on his knees, "You're not helping" You sighed, "Look i'm sorry, but i'm really sick and tired of watching you date douchebags and then reject the guys that would actually be good for you, Jake's probably the best out of all the guys I've seen you with." He snarled at you, "Why are you giving me advice? You've never even been in love." You bit your lip, "How are you so sure?" He looked over, "What's that mean?"

"Look, it's nothing but just...I care about you, and I really would fucking hate to see you fall deeper into this shit hole you've dug for yourself." You exited his room, hopefully he'd take your advice, but your plan with Jade was still in action.

...................

"Jade? Are we bringing Bec with us to the fundraiser?" Your brother yelled from his bedroom, you pulled your sundress over your head and put your hair into a ponytail. "Yeah I think so! Dave offered to walk him." You could hear Jake grumble something, but you chose to ignore him. You slipped on your sandals, grabbing Bec's leash on the way out of your room. You called Bec over and hooked his collar to the leash, "Hey Jake? You know that 50s diner you wanted to go to?"

Jake walked out of his room and nodded, "What about it?" You put your arms behind your back and looked away, "Weeelll, I was wondering if you wanted to go after the fundraiser!" Your brother nodded, "Yeah that'd be fun, what about Bec though?"

You shrugged, "It's not incredibly hot out, we can leave him with some water and the windows open in the shade." Jake nodded, "Alright, if you want to."

You squeezed the taller boy out of appreciation before running down the stairs to kiss your grandpa on the cheek. "Bye Grandpa! We'll back at around 5, call me or Jake if you need anything! Stay safe! Be careful walking up and down the stairs!"

Your grandfather put his hands on his hips, "Good lord Jade, i'm 66 not 95!" You smiled before waving and walking out to Jake's car, you opened the back door for Bec to jump in and closed it after him, yourself hopping into the passenger sear.

Jake soon walked out after you, getting into the driver's seat. The ride there was particularly silent, you could tell he was still on edge about the whole situation with Dirk. You actually felt bad, according to Dave, Dirk actually liked Jake a lot so you really had no clue as to why he would hurt him like that. Probably some angsty teen boy bullshit.

Jake drummed his fingers against the steering wheel and coughed, "So are you dating this Strider boy?" You shook your head, "No, we're just friends." He bit his lip and nodded, "Oh..." You had no idea where that came from, but frankly it didn't matter really at this point. He probably would've lectured you about "Strider lads" or something stupid like that. God, sometimes you wished that he wouldn't project his problems onto you, he lectured you for having a crush when Aranea Serket rejected him a few years ago.

You arrived in front of the parks and recreation center, Terezi and Karkat were setting up the table with the money jar.

"Is that Jade? Hey Jade!!!"

Terezi waved in your general direction, she was wearing a t-shirt with a dragon on it and a teal pair of cargo shorts. When you got out of the car, you noticed that she was wearing a pair of red crocs. Terezi certainly had an interesting taste in fashion. You waved back at the two, "And a wonderful afternoon to you Karkat!" Karkat flipped you off and you stuck your tongue out in response. A bright red hummer pulled into the parking lot, Jake snarled, knowing exactly who was in it. You walked over towards the car and greeted Dave, Bec following after you. Dirk gave you a wave from the driver's seat before giving his attention to Dave, "I'll be back to pick you up at around 4, be ready."

Jake called the two of you over, you could've sworn you saw him give a glare to Dirk, Dave said goodbye to his brother and took Bec's leash from your hand. "I'll walk him, free of charge." He said with a wink, you giggled in response, "You better earn your 30 minutes with him!"

People started to pull in, apparently the advertisement really pulled in some customers, Dave was the most requested walker!

"Dave! Can you pleeeeaase walk my puppy?"

"Dave! Dave! Dave! Mine too!"

The blonde boy laughed, "Sorry, first round's taken up by Bec, Captain Harley's top priority.

You beamed at Dave as you collected the leash of an older woman's toy poodle. Of course this dummy could make you feel special by saying that walking your dog was his top priority, you felt like an even bigger dummy by letting it work.

"OW FUCK!" Someone yelled, you could recognize that voice from miles away. Karkat told Terezi that he'd walk her dog as well, and apparently he'd already gotten bitten. Terezi's dog was an incredibly stupid beagle mix that either liked to bite your ankles or slobber all over you, apparently he'd chosen the former. It wasn't long before you were holding at least 10 leashes and 10 dogs, Dave waved you over.

"Yo Har, walk with me?"

You nodded and walked over, "Come on doggies! We're gonna take a walk with Dave!" You cooed. The lanky boy snorted at you, leaving you to lightly punch this arm.

...................

"So did you ask Jake about that shitty diner?"

You and Dave had been walking for about 10 minutes now. You agreed on a route that would lead you to the Wortham fountain from where you'd walk back to the parks and recreation center. You had to take frequent stops to pick up dog shit, which was disgusting but at least Dave was willing to help you. You really couldn't believe that you let Dave walk only one dog during his first round, but it was Bec, so you suppose you had to let it slide.

"Yeah, he was up for it, what about Dirk?" Dave tugged Bec back from suggestively sniffing a passerby at a hotdog stand. He sighed, "Yeah he agreed- Bec stop!" The man glared at Dave, who awkwardly smiled and waved. The two of you continued to walk along the sidewalk, "You want some ice cream? On me." Dave pointed to an ice cream stand at the corner of the sidewalk. You nodded, "That'd be great!" Dave pulled out his wallet, "It's super hot out, I think the dogs are starting to feel the heat too!" You added.

Dave ordered a coffee ice cream cone for himself and a cake batter ice cream for you. The two of you crossed the street to the fountain where the dogs appreciated the cooling mist of the fountain. You and Dave sat on a bench, using one hand to the hold leashes and the other being your food. Dave ended up dropping his ice cream cone after having to chase Bec who was adamant on swimming in the fountain. You laughed, it took Dave a good 5 minutes to chase down Bec and get his leash back in his grip. He sat back down beside you and waited for you to finish your food.

"Jade?" He said quietly, you looked over and tilted your head, "Yeah?" He stared at you blankly, "You have something on your lip." Oh god. How long had that been there?! "Oh shoot! Sorry let me just-" He quickly grabbed your free hand and intertwined your fingers, pressing his lips against yours. His lips were soft, and tasted like coffee with a sweet twist. You unlaced your fingers, placing your hand on the back of his neck. It was only a few moments before you split, you stared at him in shock.

"Got it...." He whispered

You began to laugh, "Dave that was so cheesy!"

"Sorry, I've kind of wanted to do that for 3 years, I had to make it memorable. Even if it was incredibly cringy."

You felt yourself form a smile that was unwilling to break. You were still in shock, but that didn't stop you from kissing him again. You didn't know if this was the beginning of something, but you wouldn't mind if it was.


	6. Chapter 6

The fundraiser was a huge success, you made over $500 in dog walking, amazingly. You think it was mostly tips, in which you contributed. You coyly gave Dave a $20 tip, telling him it was for being a good kisser. You'd never flirted before, or at least done it knowingly, but it was actually kind of fun. Dave getting all flustered was the most adorable thing you'd seen in a while. He got back at you by giving you teasing kisses everywhere on your face except your lips. You made sure Jake wasn't watching, luckily he was inside with Equius putting away the tables. The only people who saw were Karkat and Terezi who jokingly imitated the two of you by pretending to lick each other's faces and make sexual remarks.

"Jade! You're giving me the biggest hard on right now!" 

"Oh Dave! Lick my-" 

"Okay that's enough!" You yelled with a laugh, Dave flipping the two of them off. When you saw jet black hair peak through the door, you immediately let go. "I..I'm waiting to tell him, at least until we get him and Dirk to make up." You explained, with Dave agreeing and quickly bidding you farewell as you went to go approach Jake. He smiled at you, "We made a lot of money Jadie! I'm proud of you." You hugged your brother, "Now, let's celebrate with a burger!" You said, leading Bec to the car. Jake grinned and followed after you, hopping into the drivers seat and putting the keys in the ignition. You put Bec in the car and let yourself in the passenger's seat. As Jake was driving, you pulled out your phone and texted Dave

You: dave! is dirk there yet?  
Dave: no :/ hes running late  
You: darn! :(   
You: ill try to hold up jake  
Dave: i can see if i can get dirk to hurry his ass up  
You: alright  
You: i gotta go  
You: jakes giving me a weird look  
Dave: bye  
You: bye<3

You locked your phone and placed it in your purse, Jake smirked at you. "Who are you texting?" You lied right through your teeth, "Just Rose" He chuckled, "Alright whatever you say" 

You insisted on stopping by the pharmacy, claiming that it was an emergency. Jake immediately pulled into the nearest CVS, what was funny is that he knew that your...last time of the month was only 2 weeks ago. He gave you $20, wow, he really had no idea how any of this stuff worked. 

You entered the CVS and pulled out your phone,

You: hey im at a cvs  
You: i told jake i was on my period and he immediately pulled over and gave me $20  
Dave: wait are you?  
You: no!  
You: but if you wanna date me youll have to get used to that

Shit. You just went there. You started the DTR talk barely 2 hours after you first kissed. Well if it was going anywhere, it would probably go in the exact opposite direction now. 

Dave: are we dating  
Dave: i mean like  
Dave: thatd be so fucking awesome if we were  
Dave: but if u like  
Dave: wanna be chill about it thats cool too  
Dave: we can watch fresh prince of bel air and kiss  
Dave: in a non committed way  
Dave: fuck we can get married if you want  
Dave: wait shit too far  
You: calm down dave! :p  
You: we can talk about it later   
You: but do you want any food or something  
Dave: doritos would be fucking rad  
You: alrightie! im gonna go buy tampons and chips  
Dave: bye har  
Dave: have fun buying cotton dildos  
You: youre so gross! 

You grabbed the first box of tampons you saw and a large bag of chips, you had no idea why Dave loved doritos so much, they weren't that good in your opinion. You checked out and got about $13 in return, you shoved the extra cash into your purse and walked out, Jake tapping patiently against the steering wheel. 

Dave: we just got here  
You: that fast?! :o  
Dave: dirk took a back route and was also driving like a maniac  
Dave: i swear i was gonna kill him if he wrecked my car  
Dave: shit cost me every penny ive made since i was like 3  
You: it wont be long until were there! the service is awful at that place so well make it in time  
Dave: alright ill see u soon mouth buddy  
You: mouth buddy?!  
Dave: idk its like a butt buddy except for mouths  
You: gross :p 

It took about 5 minutes for Jake to pull into the diner, apparently Dirk parked on the other side of building or something because the red hummer wasn't visible anywhere. He left the windows open and hid any valuables hidden under the seat. You gave Bec a kiss and poured a water bottle into a bowl and set it on the seat. You could see a tuft of blonde hair peaking through the window, that was one of the boys. The two of you walked in and low and behold, it was the Striders. Jake clenched his fists, eyes widened at Dirk who looked back at him, equally as surprised. "Jade, I'd like to leave" He began to exit but you pulled him back by the hem of his shirt, "No" You pulled him over towards the table where the two sat. "You two need to talk" 

Jake growled "There's nothing to talk about"

"There's a shit ton to talk about" Dave mumbled, standing up out of the booth. "Jade and I are going to mess around with the juke box while you two talk, and I've paid Cronus over there $20 to tackle you if you try and leave." Dave stood up and took your hand, leading you to the jukebox as Jake reluctantly sat down. You hope this goes well. 

...................

"Jake..."

"Just...don't"

You felt humiliated right now, you were about to break down in a restaurant filled with strangers. You should've never listened to Jade, she always told you how horrible this place was. Dirk tapped his fingers against a glass of soda while you looked away, trying to avoid meeting his eyes. What's New Pussy Cat by Tom Jones was playing the background, and after 7 plays it would be succeeded by It's Not Usual by Tom Jones as well, and then more What's New Pussy Cat. Jade's favorite comedian was John Mulaney, so you'd heard this joke about a thousand times. 

"I'm sorry" 

You were taken out of your trance as you looked at Dirk, "What?"

"I said I'm sorry" 

You looked around the room, frowning, "If you weren't into me, you just had to say so, not-"

"That's not it" 

You slammed your fists against the table, "Then what is it?!" You yelled. Everyone was staring at the two of you as you shrank down in your seat. He sighed, "Jake I like you a lot. Like. A lot. And whenever I find out that someone that I admire thinks i'm not totally terrible either, I just lose all control I guess. I guess my instincts were just trying to protect you from me." 

"W-well...tell your instincts to fuck off!" You yelled, standing up in your seat and stepping onto the table. In movies, the way that the guy gets the girl (or in this case guy) is by making a grand gesture, so confessing your pre-love for Dirk Strider in front of freshman and homeless people was the grandest you could get. 

"Dirk Strider, you're the swellest ninja I've ever met in my entire life! You have the most amazing god damn jawline I've ever seen in my life and I would really like to be able to kiss your face whenever I want!" You yelled, looking over towards Jade who had her face in her hands as Dave laughed. "I don't think I'm gay, but golly Dirk you've sure shown me that I'm not straight!" You proclaimed, reaching your hand out, "So Dirk, would you do this adventurous lad the honor of being his boyfriend?" You looked down at the boy nervously, who was snickering in his seat, You really hoped he'd accept, it was embarrassing enough to be rejected last time but this time you were in a restaurant full of people. Dirk looked up at you and smirked, "English, you're so fucking adorable." 

He grabbed your hand and pulled you down to press his lips against yours. You felt a smile escape your lips, you suppose that this was Jade and Dave's plan, you wanted to be mad but you really couldn't be. An older lady clapped, but mostly everyone went back to eating their overcooked burgers. Even Dave and Jade were too busy attempting to play pool, "No, Jade- that's not-" The cueball ended up flying off the table, she was lucky that it didn't hit a customer in the face, and Cronus was too busy flirting with freshman to notice or care. Cronuses little brother Eridan also tried to flirt with Jade, but ran off when he realized how tall Dave was. 

You weren't sure if this was considered a first date with Dirk or not, but it'll be a pretty fond memory of yours no matter what happens. 

...................

Dirk left with Jake to go cuddle and watch really stupid movies or some shit. So basically, you got to spend the next few hours with Jade doing whatever the hell you wanted. 

"Let's go to an arboretum!" 

You looked at her like she was crazy, "A what?" 

She bopped her head to the beat of the music, drumming her fingers against the seat. "It's like a collection of trees! They're so pretty!" You wanted to say no, but you did end up promising her that they could do whatever she wanted tonight, so the two of you ended up at a joint arboretum and a botanical garden. You knew that Jade was good at gardening, but you had no idea that she could probably list every single type of flower. 

"Those are eremurus! They're a symbol of endurance" She said with glee, walking along a stone path. "Do you just know every type of flower and what it means?" She gave you a thumbs up, "Exactly!" You looked around and pointed to a patch of tiny blue flowers, Jade smiled excitedly, "Those are Forget-Me-Nots! They're one of my favorites because they're often overlooked but have a great deal of meaning to them. They mean a variety of things from true love to the obvious answer, remembrance." 

You intertwined your fingers with hers, "I think you're like a human flower dictionary or something." She smiled at you, "I think you'd be an iris if you were a flower, you speak out inspiration and you prefer to do things your own way instead of having structure in your life." You smirked, "Harley you're such a dork." She chortled, "Coming from the guy who gave names to all of his records!" You let go of her hand to wrap your arm around her waist, "True. You're still a dork though." She smiled and continued to walk with you down the brick path, calling both of you dorks.

You stayed at the garden until closing time at 7:30, after which you drove the two of you to your house. You were extremely nervous, you knew that Bro would do anything in his will to embarrass the fuck out of you. You tried to convince Jade to go to her house instead but she was on adamant meeting your brother for some reason. You complied, hopefully Bro decided to go into work today after all or would just be kind enough to fuck off. You parked in front of your apartment building, Jade looking amazed. "You live in a high rise? That's so awesome!" You shrugged, "It's not really much honestly, our apartment's pretty small." 

She gave you a smile, "That doesn't matter, I just wanna hang out with you." 

Well then why the fuck couldn't you hang out at her house instead? It was probably something weird having to do with her grandpa or Bec, you swear you'd never be able to understand her family. You got out of the car and helped Jade out too, the car was pretty tall and she well, wasn't. You made sure to lock it, you learned your lesson about that when some jackass stole your wallet from it a few months ago, never again will it be unlocked. You walked Jade inside to the lobby, where the kid that always reeks of weed hangs out for some reason. 

He honked his clown horn at the two of you, which prompted you to quickly lead Jade to the elevator. God you hoped that it wouldn't break down, at least not right now. While it was a good excuse for being late to school since that elevator was always broken as fuck, you'd much rather just retreat to your room so you and Jade can watch dumb movies and cuddle. You sound like Karkat right now. Luckily the two of you made it to your floor without any problems, and Jade quickly ran to your door. You could hear My Little Pony playing in the background as Bro screamed at the TV. Dammit. He's here. Jade bounced up and down as she waited for you to retrieve your keys. "Daaave! Hurry up!" She whined, you groaned and put your key into the lock, twisting it and popping open the door. Bro didn't even look away from the TV, "Dirk if you're gonna go cry and jack off please do it quietly." 

"Nope. Not Dirk. No one jacking off. Just me and a......" Shit, you knew you were forgetting something. You totally forgot to have that "defining the relationship" talk with Jade. Woops. Both Jade and Bro raised an eyebrow at you, 

"Jesus Dave just tell me if she's a hooker or not." 

"She's not a hooker!" You proclaimed, taking Jade's hand and storming into your room. God, does he not know how to have any fucking manners? You sighed and ran your fingers through your hair, "You see why I didn't want you to come over?" 

"I'm sure it can't be worse than when my grandpa insists he can handle an extra scotch and then watches Rugby. Never heard more profanities in my life." She laughed, reaching up to put a kiss to your cheek in hopes to cheer you up. It worked a little, until Bro barged in. 

"Yo kiddo." He shifted his gaze towards Jade, "Kiddo's lady friend." She gave a smile at Bro who tipped his baseball cap at her. "I got some pizza if y'all want any." You were going to reject, but before you knew it, Jade was dragging you into the kitchen. You sat on the futon next to Jade, who was in between you and Bro. She seemed to be excited to get to know him, but you got an odd feeling from him. Had Bro ever flirted with your girlfriends? Yes. Had he slept with any of them? You weren't sure. Probably at least one. 

"So, mind telling me your name, friend of little man?" He said before taking a sip of his Dr. Pepper spiked with a shit ton of vodka. She smiled, "I'm Jade Harley!" 

Bro promptly spit out his drink, eyes widening. 

"You're shitting me right now." 

She shook her head, looking at the older man in confusion. 

"Wow Dave, good job on finally growing a pair and asking her out." 

"W-wha-"

"This kid's totally been obsessing over you for the past 6 years or so." 

"God shut up!" You yelled, burying your face into your hands. Bro did this every time and every time the girl you were with got so fucking freaked out by him that you ended up breaking up the next day or so. Jade didn't seem to get freaked out though, in fact, she seemed happy. 

She gave you a squeeze, "That's so adorable!" 

Bro took another bite of pizza and looked over at you, "Oh and where is Dirk by the way?" 

You lifted your head and shrugged, "I don't know, probably fucking Jake or something." Jade covered her ears, "That's my brother you're talking about!" She stuck her tongue out in disgust. "Aw shit, Jake's your brother? Damn, Strider's getting lucky with your family. You got a hot older sister or something?" 

Jade shook her head, "I guess I have a grandpa, but that's about it." 

Bro winked at her, "Tell him to hit me up." 

He's done it now, any relationship you had with Jade was completely crushed because your brother is such a fucking weirdo. You waited for her to shriek and run out, but instead you heard giggling. Oh my god, was she laughing at the thought of my brother having sex with her grandpa? Jesus, you were pretty sure Bro was confused too at this point. You eventually just dragged Jade back into your room to avoid the dumb questions and implications. You spent the entire night playing Netflix roulette again and showing her how to turntable, she was a natural, but she claimed to prefer her bass. It was around 11:30 when you offered to drive her home, but she whined instead. 

"Can't I just stay here? It's super late anyways." 

You scratched the back of your head nervously, Jade, staying over? You were sure her grandpa wouldn't like that, neither would Jake. Maybe it wasn't Strider-like to want to impress people, but you definitely wanted Jade's family to like you. "I mean, would Jake and your grandpa be okay with that?" You asked, she shrugged and smiled, "I can tell Jake, but it's not like we're gonna do anything. Besides, you slept over at my house." She looked up at you, pouting her lips, "Alright fine, just don't pout please." 

She grinned and climbed on your bed, "Can I borrow a t-shirt?" 

"Uh yeah, sure, which one?"

She tapped her chin, looking around your room, "Hmm, what about the one with the red sleeves?" 

You knew exactly which one she was talking about, it was your baseball tee with the pixelated record on it. Fuck, with your height, that'd be huge on her. You looked through your drawers and threw the shirt over to her. She took off her sundress without even hesitating, the two of you had barely been dating for 8 hours and she was already undressing in front of you. She put on your t-shirt before unhooking her bra and throwing it across the room. She yawned and reached for you, "Daaave. I'm tired." 

You threw off your shirt, pulling off your jeans and replacing them with a pair of flannel pajama pants. You climbed into your bed as Jade wrapped her arms around you. She reached for your aviators and removed them, placing them on your bedside table. She did the same with her own, turning off the lamp as well. The two of you lay in silence, the only thing to be heard was your breath. It was a while before one of you spoke up, 

"Dave, we never did clarify if we were dating or not" 

You laughed, "Jade, you're at my house, you're staying the night too, you've met my brother, and you're also wearing my favorite t-shirt. I think we're dating." 

"Oh! Well, okay!" She said, placing her head under your chin. 

Throughout the night you'd had multiple situations in which you woke up because you were practically choking on Jade's hair, and also sweating balls because for some fucking reason it was 90 degrees in the middle of the night in October. Damn these heat waves. You'd also woken up to being lightly patted on the face at 4 AM, Jade was muttering something that you couldn't make out except for "snoring" Fuck. Were you snoring? There was also the time at 6 AM in which you were spooning Jade and couldn't fall asleep cause you had no idea what to fucking do with your other arm. Also, more hair in your mouth. Jade slept like a baby however, despite that she half-woke up to tell you to stop your snoring. 

You managed to get another few hours of sleep before waking up at noon to Jake English staring down at the two of you. 

"Good morning, David"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry it's not super eventful :( but i hope you enjoy the fluff! next chapter will be more eventful


	7. Chapter 7

"Don't worry, I'm not here to lecture. I'm just picking up Jada." 

Dave snorted and looked over towards you. You buried your head in your boyfriend's chest, "Shut up" 

"Grandpa wants to talk to us about something, so hurry your butt up Harley!" Jake teased before walking out to the living room and chatted with Bro. You sighed and wrapped your arms around Dave, "I don't wanna leave" You murmured. Dave kissed the top of your head, making you giggle. If someone told you two months ago that'd you be dating Dave Strider by the end of October, you'd have called them insane and might have actually felt a little insulted. You thought about it again, you'd only been friends with Dave for a few weeks, were you moving too fast? Ah whatever, worrying about stuff like that is for your 30s, at least that's what Jake would tell you. You reluctantly pulled yourself out of Dave's bed, facing away from the boy and taking off your top, pulling your sundress over your head. 

"You should face me next time you change." Dave with a wink, "You perv!" You cried out, laughing as you grabbed a pillow from the floor and smacked him with it. He grabbed your wrist and pulled you down onto his bed again, cupping your face and kissing your cheek. 

There was a bang on the door, "'Ello little chaps! You betta' not be makin' nookie in there!" It was clear that Dirk was over exaggerating your brother's accent and manner of speaking to tease him. You could hear Jake make a remark back, something about being a farm boy. You sat up and pushed up Dave's bangs and kissed his forehead. "I'll talk to you after Grandpa tells us what's so urgent." You slipped on your sandals and Dave stood up to kiss you. You stepped out of Dave's room to see Dirk and Jake engaged in a kiss. You flicked the back of your brother's head and laughed, "Come on lover boy, Grandpa wants us home."

Jake sighed and gave his newfound boyfriend a peck, "Bye, I'll see you tomorrow." Dirk pulled him back in for another kiss, you practically had to drag Jake out of the apartment. You managed to get out of there at 12:15, and on your way down to the elevator you felt your phone vibrate in your purse. 

\-----------tentacleTherapist began pestering gardenGnostic\-----------

TT: Hey Jade  
TT: So you and David are dating?  
GG: oh gosh how do you already know that?!  
TT: Well it wasn't particularly difficult seeing as though Terezi just messaged me about the fact you two were sucking face at the fundraiser.  
TT: While I am totally for you dating my brother, might I ask if it's a little quick? You've only been friends for a few weeks.  
GG: i was wondering the same thing  
GG: but honestly its not really worth worrying about i guess  
GG: its not like im deciding to marry him or something  
GG: besides hes liked me for a really long time!! and he makes me happy so :P  
TT: Well then I have no objections, if you are happy and if Dave is happy then I'm also happy.  
GG: thanks rose!!  
TT: Have you told John?  
GG: um..  
GG: nooooo....  
GG: im just scared of what he'll say!! hes become really good friends with dave and i dont wanna ruin it since johns my brother! :(  
TT: Jade, while at first it might not make John happy, I imagine he just wants you to be happy.  
TT: Don't stress about it, as I quote from Jake English, "Stress is for your 30s"  
GG: hehe i cant believe you actually remember that too  
TT: How couldn't I?  
TT: That was the best sleepover I've ever had.  
GG: hehe back on the topic of love and stuff  
GG: how are things going with kanaya?  
TT: I have no idea what you're talking about Jade!  
TT: Kanaya and I are merely friends.  
GG: yeah suuuuure!! ;B  
TT: Oh bother, things are fine. We haven't told anyone, I haven't even told Dave yet.  
GG: oh bother? are you winnie the pooh or something :p

TT: Exactly TT: I have to go now, but I hope things go well with you and Dave. 

\-----------tentacleTherapistceased pestering gardenGnostic\-----------

................

Your grandfather was oddly quiet for some reason, and he didn't seem to be his usual self for some reason. Oh god, was your grandpa sick or something? He took a sip of his coffee, taking a deep sigh. "I figure that the two of you are curious as to why I requested to speak to you with such urgency." 

"Grandpa are you sick or something?" You asked, clinging onto the hem of your dress. Your grandfather quickly shook his head, "No! No! Nothing having to do with me." He insisted, "It's about your mother." 

Oh, her. You hadn't seen your mother since you were 11 years old, and even then you didn't want anything having to do with her. Your mother abandoned both you and Jake when she made it big back in Italy, and she only visited once every 5 or so years and when she did, she acted like she was with the two of you the entire time. 

You took a sip of your tea, not even wanting to ask what had happened to your mother this time. Jake seemed actually curious though, "What's happened to mom? Something bad?" Your grandfather shook his head, "Nothing bad at all, in fact the opposite. She's gotten engaged." Great. Just another man for her to steal money from. Of course this would be followed up with your mother visiting, complaining about Houston, bothering you about your wedding even though you're 16, and giving you a list of Italian boys to date. This time she would bother you about bridesmaid dresses and tell you she's going to set you up with a nice boy from Rome. She always said she wouldn't want you to date some "pasty Texan boy" god you're so excited for her reaction. 

"She's going to be flying in on Wednesday, so you're going to take off school that day." 

You groaned, "Why am I required to even go to her wedding? I don't like her and she knows that." Jake frowned, "Jade, she's our-" 

"I don't care if we came out of her, are you forgetting that she just dumped us when she saw a glimpse of fame?" You were normally a high forgiving person, but your mother was the exception. You'd never even considering forgiving her for abandoning you and Jake, but you knew that you'd be forced to go to her posh wedding in Italy, and you'd be forced to try on stupid bridesmaids dresses for her own personal joy. You stomped out of the living room and into your room, immediately turning on your laptop and opening pesterchum.

\----------gardenGnosticbegan pesteringturntechGodhead\----------

GG: hey  
TG: sup har  
TG: what was the thing ur grandpa wanted to talk about  
GG: oh :/  
GG: it was about my mom  
GG: she got engaged  
TG: oh shit congrats  
GG: no not congrats  
GG: dave she dumped both jake and i with our grandparents as soon as her fashion brand started taking off  
GG: she only came to visit us once every 5 years and barely talked to us in between!  
GG: and whenever she does visit she acts like shes actually contributed to my life  
GG: i mean jesus dave the last time we talked she gave me a list of random italian teenage guys that were supposedly going to be my future husband  
TG: what  
TG: ill fight them  
TG: anytime anywhere  
TG: ill take a flight to fucking rome or some shit and take their asses down  
GG: okay tough guy :P  
GG: you could do me a favor though  
TG: and what would that be  
GG: i know for a fact that during the family dinner shes going to talk about how i should date an italian guy and then complain about how she wouldn't ever want me to date a pale texan guy  
TG: hey  
TG: sure im pasty as hell but  
TG: im the fucking turntable god of houston  
TG: oh but where were you going with that  
GG: right after she does im going to text you and you have to ring the doorbell on my cue  
GG: her face will be hysterical when you come in  
TG: should i make my accent thicker like bros  
GG: yes absolutely  
TG: you got it commander babe  
GG: thanks ;)  
TG: so when does the devil wearing prada arrive?  
GG: wednesday morning  
GG: im gonna be out of school that day  
TG: you mean im stuck at practice without you  
TG: but staring at your butt is my favorite part  
GG: oh my god dave!!! >:B  
GG: but yeah sorry :(  
GG: youll do a good job at it though!  
TG: i suppose  
TG: but you owe me  
GG: ill figure something out! :)  
TG: hehehe  
GG: i know what youre thinking and no  
TG: damn  
TG: well ill let you get back to your family wedding drama and shit  
GG: :( ugghhh  
TG: ill do what i can to make that family dinner as fucking awesome as possible  
TG: ill bring a cow if i have to  
TG: i hope she hates cowboys  
GG: bye dave :)  
TG: bye

\----------gardenGnosticceased pesteringturntechGodhead\----------

You shut your laptop and flopped back on your bed. This next week was already going to be hell, you can't even begin to imagine what the wedding was going to be like. Your mom would doll you up, force you to dance with a guy you barely knew, and scream at you all over again when you just couldn't take it anymore. Maybe if Dave was there things wouldn't be so bad, well, that was an argument for another day. You just really hoped that your mom wouldn't pick out an ugly bridesmaid dress. 

................

Monday and Tuesday went by surprisingly fast, which is exactly what you were dreading. You practically couldn't sleep all of Tuesday night, you just thought of how badly this week could go. Your mother adored you, but in a way that was just, suffocating. You talked to Dave about it, but it just felt like he didn't understand. You looked over towards your clock, 6 AM. Only two more hours until she arrived. You groaned and pulled out your phone, texting Dave. 

You: hey are you up?  
Dave: i am now  
You: shoot im sorry!! :(  
You: you can go back to sleep if you want  
Dave: nah i was supposed to get up soon anyways  
Dave: everything okay?  
You: yeah its just  
You: i havent been able to sleep at all  
You: i really dont wanna see her  
You: everytime after i see her i just  
You: break down  
Dave: look  
Dave: if you feel yourself about to go over the edge  
Dave: call me  
Dave: ill drop all my shit and run to wherever you are  
Dave: even if i have to just run out of class  
Dave: ill swoop in and take you away  
Dave: and we can get you some ice cream and your favorite movies  
Dave: or whatever the hell you wanna do  
Dave: i just dont wanna see you upset  
You: youre the best you know that  
Dave: ive been told ;)  
You: i have to go  
You: i might as well just get ready now  
Dave: alright  
Dave: bye commander babe  
You: <3

You smiled, well, at least if this week went to shit you had one person to make it worth it. 

You spent the next two hours showering, picking an outfit, making breakfast, and just trying to enjoy yourself before all hell breaks loose. You had already started on your Grandfather's morning coffee and you really felt like you needed one yourself. You really wish your grandmother was here to tell you what to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was intended to be a lot longer (this is actually one of the shortest ones I believe) but I decided on having all the mother stuff go down next chapter. I guess this is look at Jade's background regarding her parents and past, Dave will likely have something similar in the future. Anyways, hope you enjoy :) 
> 
> P.S. 
> 
> I have this bad habit of skipping over words when I write since i'm quite a fast reader so if I've made any mistakes please let me know! Thank you!


	8. Chapter 8

Waiting at the airport for your mother was torture. She liked to take her sweet time with everything, even if it caused an inconvenience for everyone else. The clacking of heels make it plainly obvious that she had arrived, probably with tons of bags of souvenirs that she assumed the three of you wanted. Every time she saw you she always insisted that the two of you take a trip to Italy, it wasn't that you had anything against Italy, you just didn't want to go with her. From the crowds appeared a slender woman, heels making her only a few inches taller than you. Her hair was just past her shoulders, curled in a way that must have cost her over $150. She put her bags on the ground and opened her arms, Jake ran towards her and squeezed her. You simply walked over and gave her a quick hug, her red lips tugged a smile.

"Oh Jadie! You're so grown up!" She cooed, turning towards Jake and giving him another squeeze, "You too Jakey! You must be the tallest in the family! I bet you have the girls falling all over you." She said with a wink, you did your best to hold in a snicker as Jake hesitantly laughed as well. Your grandpa walked over and gave his daughter a kiss on the cheek, "It's wonderful to see you again, Lorena." 

She smiled and gave her father a hug, "I've missed you." When they ended their embrace, your mom looked at you excitedly. "Are you excited to try on bridesmaids dresses? I specifically made an appointment at a bridal salon in Houston so you could be the model, you have such a lovely physique!" She gushed, "It's actually in 2 hours! So I should probably hurry and drop my bags off at the hotel!" 

The four of you walked back to the parking garage and packed away your mother's things in the trunk. The entire car ride to the St. Regis hotel was a little over half an hour, but it definitely felt like an 8 hour plain ride. Your mother chatted your ear off about her new fiancé, "His name is Francis Germano and he's just the sweetest man in the world! He's the owner of a 5 star hotel in Sorrento which is where we plan on moving after the honeymoon, we currently live in Naples which isn't that far away but it'd be much more convenient for my honey pie if we just moved there!" 

She smiled and sighed in delight, "Oh Jadie, I really hope that you find an Italian man as wonderful as him to marry one day." You faked a smile back at her, but in reality you just wanted to scream. The way she wanted to dictate all of your choices in life drove you insane, you couldn't wait for this week to be done and that stupid wedding over with so you could have another five year break of her. You can't even imagine how ugly that the bridesmaids dress would be, satin, poofy sleeves, everything you hated but she loved. You, your brother, and grandfather helped carry her bags up to her hotel room. She let you all know that all of you would be leaving for the bridal shop immediately after her stuff is unpacked. 

Boy, aren't you excited to be your mother's personal dress up doll? 

It took her a good 20 minutes to put all of her things away and another 10 for her to hold all of you up by insisting that you all take a look around the hotel. It wasn't until 30 minutes before her appointment started that you finally got on the road, and it took about that amount of time to get there due to heavy traffic. 

Walking inside the store made you want to hurl, the satin, the glitter, all of it was just too much for you. You had to do it though, because if you didn't you knew that your mom would throw a huge fit in front of everyone and embarrass the hell out of you. So you were given no choice but to comply. She chose all of the dresses that you absolutely hated, poofy, ruffled, and indistinguishable from a cupcake. You tried on every single one to the point where you just wanted to claw the entire store to pieces. There was a specific dress that you hated, and of course she absolutely adored. It was short, incredibly dowdy, and so red that you stuck out like a sore thumb in a primarily white bridal salon. The bodice was made of satin and unforgiving to any girl who wasn't stick thin, the skirt was made of incredibly scratchy tulle, and to top it off it had a gold satin belt with a giant bow on the front. You felt more like a flower girl than a bridesmaid. Your mother adored it however, claiming that you looked like a princess. She was the only that thought so. 

"You look like a 3 year old pageant girl" Jake said, trying to hold back a burst of laughter. Your grandfather agreed, "It's too adolescent for her, and she's the youngest bridesmaid!" Your mother slouched in defeat, "Fiiine, go try on the next one." 

This was the last dress out of your mother's selection, it was sequined and gold, but not in a way that made it seem cheap, which seemed to be your mother's style. When you tried it on, you actually liked it even more. It wasn't poofy, it wasn't uncomfortable, it was actually quite elegant. The neckline was high with cap sleeves, it was like a column that hugged your body in all the right places. You really hoped that your mom would choose this one, it would make the entire process of being a bridesmaid much easier. You snuck a picture of yourself in the mirror to send Dave before walking out. 

Jake looked legitimately surprised about the fact you had actual curves, your grandfather had the same reaction, and your mother actually loved it. "Oh sweetie! It compliments you so well, the boys at the wedding will be all over you!" 

Remember that moment in which you actually felt okay with being in your mom's wedding? It was gone. 

Your mother ended up picking the golden dress, still going on and on about the Italian boys that will be at her wedding. You had no idea why she was so obsessed with you dating an Italian guy, it wasn't even like it was her business anyways. You hoped she brought it up at dinner tonight though, her face will be hysterical. 

........................

The scent of Italian food spread through the air vents throughout the house. As you straightened your hair, you swooned over how well your grandfather could cook. Your mother insisted that all of you dress up for the occasion, so you stood in your room in a powder blue pleated dress and white flats. Dave would get to your house at around 6 PM and wait by your door in silence until you gave him his cue. You quickly applied your lipstick and headed downstairs, where you were greeted with your mother wearing a maroon chiffon dress, decorated with a beaded belt. She smiled and pulled you in for a hug, "You're so beautiful Jadie!" As she let go, she dramatically wiped away a tear, "So grown up!" 

You thanked her before leaving to set up the dining table, anything to get away from that woman's stupid crocodile tears. It was only a matter of time before the 4 of you were seated at the dinner table as your mom continued to ramble about her "hard life" in the fashion career. Dave was already at your front door, waiting for his cue to come in. It shouldn't be long now, just a few more minutes until she mentions Italian boys again.

"Jadie, I think you're going to love some of the younger groomsmen!" 

There it was. 

"I mean, these Texan boys, some of them are nice just not husband material y'know?" She said with a giggle, you politely smiled and nodded as you quickly texted Dave his cue. 

There was a knock on the door, you immediately shot up from your seat and grinned, "That must be my guest!" You ran over to open the door to reveal a tousled but, kind of hot looking Dave. His hair was a mess, his crimson dress shirt had sleeves rolled up to the elbow, and for the love of god he was wearing converse! That's exactly how you wanted him. You pecked his cheek, knowing your mother was looking over. He took your hand as you led him to the dining room, where the other three sat, confused. Your mother was giving you a glare, this was going to be the funniest shit you'd ever seen. 

"Mom, I want you to meet my boyfriend, Dave!" 

She looked shocked, Jake was about to burst out laughing, and your grandfather was too focused on his food to even notice that Dave had come over. "Dave's a native Texan, got the accent and everything!" 

You weren't sure how he was going to perform this over-exaggerated tone, but you prayed that it sounded realistic. 

"Hey, nice to meet ya." He said, a thick but smooth sounding accent falling from his lips. Damn, you could get used to this Dave. Your mother gave out a smile and nodded, "Hello..Dave!" She said through gritted teeth. You could tell she was pissed, but oh was it so sweet. Your grandfather invited Dave to sit down, claiming that there was more than enough food for another guest. Apparently Dave had come up with a backstory for his "character", because he talked on and on about living on the farm as a child. Your mother was having none of it, she couldn't say a word, only having the ability to smile and nod. This night was going to be fun as hell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More was supposed to happen but I decided to cut it short. I've been super busy so it might be another couple weeks before another chapter :(


	9. Notice

I felt like I needed to make this because I'd see email updates on this work and I left this un-updated without an explanation, so basically, it chalks up to the fact that I just lost inspiration. I was incredibly sick at the time of this fic's last update, mononucleosis to be exact. If you've ever had mono you know that it absolutely destroys your energy. I was out of school for a month and had to take summer school due to that, so basically I had no inspiration and absolutely no time. 

Will I finish this fic? Maybe, but new fics are taking top priority at this moment. Anyways, that's all :) <3


End file.
